Dry spell ahead as high pressure builds

Published 7:57 am, Friday, August 27, 2010

High pressure, building in from the Great Lakes, will dominate the weather picture through the middle of next week, the National Weather Service says.

This high pressure system will all but stall over the weekend, as jet stream conditions aren't pushing weather systems along quite as expected. This will mean higher-that-normal temperatures will be the rule for the time being, although noticeable radiational cooling will occur at least for tonight and Saturday night.

Although Hurricane Danielle, now a category 4 storm, is well out in the Atlantic, it's generating sells that are already impacting ocean beaches, and these will be factor for swimmers this weekend.

Sunset today will occur at 7:34, and there will be about 13 hours and 19 minutes of daylight today. The moon will rise tonight at 8:29. Sunrise Saturday will occur at 6:15.

There is a hoax on the internet which states that "Mars will look as large as the moon to the naked eye" tonight. But according to NASA, Mars will be barely visible low in the western sky after sunset tonight, appearing as a faint, red star-like object. It will form a triangle with Venus and the star Spica. Binoculars will help. Mars will set tonight by 9:14 p.m.

Today, it will be sunny, with a high near 80. North wind between 6 and 11 mph.